New book by Larry Connors - Click here to read more
The markets appeared poised to shake off two negative economic reports early in the session, though sellers did most of the driving today, as the Dow and S&P trended down to post losses on the close. The Nasdaq bucked the trend with a positive close. Tomorrow will be a huge day with unemployment data and sentiment reports coming out, and may be just the event to unwind the coil Kevin Haggerty described the indexes as being in.
Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU.X | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) closed -0.36% at 8397.03. The S&P 500 ($SPX.X | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) closed -0.55% at 885.76. The Nasdaq ($COMPQ | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) closed +0.22% at 1,329.71.
The day's biggest gains were made in Internet ($INX.X | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), +3.57%, airlines ($XAL.X | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), +1.46%, computer hardware ($HWI.X | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), +0.91%, and software ($GSO.X | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), +0.83.
The biggest losses were in healthcare providers ($RXH.X | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), -6.10%, gold and silver ($XAU.X | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), -3.27%, semiconductors and ($SOX.X | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), -2.03%.
In economic news, the third-quarter GDP grew 3.1% vs. the 3.6% analyst consensus. Also, the Chicago PMI came in at 45.9 vs. the 49.5 anticipated by analysts.
The 10-year US Note was +145 at 114 230.
The dollar was -0.50 at 106.82.
Volume was above average, at 1,498,583,000
on the NYSE, and 1,741,989,000 on the Nasdaq.Market breadth was mostly positive, with NYSE advancing issues over declining issues by a ratio of 1.27, though down volume beat up volume by a 1.30 ratio. Nasdaq advancing issues over declining issues came in at 1.10, and up volume beat down volume by a 1.52 ratio.
The VIX was -0.17 at 35.91. The TRIN was +0.81 at 1.66.
Leading the Dow down were:
Alcoa (AA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), -3.24% at 22.06, Home Depot (HD | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), -2.00% at 28.88, United Tech (UTX | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), -1.57% at 61.67, International Paper (IP | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), -1.57% at 34.93, Boeing (BA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), -1.49% at 29.75, and Philip Morris (MO | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), -1.42% at 40.75.
Stocks in the news:
Biotech company Myriad Genetics (MYG | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), -3.42% at 18.06, was downgraded by CIBC World Markets to "sector under perform" from "sector perform".
Chip maker Cree (CREE | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), -5.58% at 17.25, downgraded by UBS Warburg to "reduce" from "sector perform."
Insurance company Aetna (AET | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), -1.61% at 40.30, beat its third-quarter earnings expectations by $0.03 with profits of $0.73.
Investment services company Morgan Stanley (MWD | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), +2.17% at 38.92, was upgraded by Salomon Smith Barney to "outperform" from "in-line" based on valuation.
Grocery retailer Albertson's (ABS | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), -18.63% at 22.31, lowered its earnings guidance, and now sees EPS at $0.47-$0.49 vs. previous estimates of $0.52.
Computer services company Electronic Data Systems (EDS | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), +9.52% at 15.06, reported third-quarter earnings above expectations, though was far below results from a year ago. The company also announced it will be laying off workers.
Printing and publishing company Martha Stewart Living (MSO | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), -14.89% at 7.20, issued an earnings warning for the current quarter after posting third-quarter results in line with expectations. The company is still dealing with legal issues related to insider trading.
In the oil and gas business, Exxon Mobile (XOM | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), -1.23% at 33.66, announced its earnings came in ahead of expectations, and Chevron Texaco (CVX | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), -5.28% at 67.63, missed its third-quarter earnings estimates by $0.12 with profits of $1.17 per share.
From TM's Momentum List, drug maker Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), +5.13% at 77.43.
From TM's Implosion List, healthcare facilities company Tenet Healthcare (THC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), 15.31% at 33.00. The company is reported to be under investigation by government authorities.
About TradingMarkets | Contact | Advertise | Careers | Link to Us | Site Map | Help | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Return Policy | Testimonials | Feedback
